Tue, Mar 6, 2018
In the case against the former pastor of Byens Kirke in Viborg, the defendant Christian Laursen Raburn was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Tuesday. The former pastor was charged with a total of eight counts of sexual abuse of children and young people at Byens Kirke. A unanimous jury at the court in Viborg on Monday sentenced the former Free Church priest to three and a half years in prison. In the proceedings, the prosecutor in the case requested that he be sentenced to four years in prison, so the sentence largely follows the prosecutor's recommendation. In addition to the prison sentence for 30-year-old Christian Laursen Raburn, who has lived in the U.S. for a number of years, the court has also expelled him from Denmark. He has also lost the right to work with children. He is also prohibited from being in the company of children under 18 in his own home without supervision, and he is also not allowed to visit children under 18 without supervision. Christian Laursen Raburn is also ordered to pay the costs of the case and must pay a number of amounts in compensation to the injured parties in the case.
Wed, May 23, 2018
The case of the 31-year-old priest, Christian Laursen Raburn, who was convicted in March of repeated sexual abuse of eight children and young people in Byens Kirke in Silkeborg, has had major consequences in the free church community. There has been a tightening of supervision of the approximately 100 churches that are part of the association 'Frikirkenet'. Among other things, they must be assigned external advisors who supervise both the congregation and the priests. A system that they are happy about in Betania Church Center in Blåhøj near Brande. - We always believe in the best in people, but a case like this shows that we cannot. We have to take our precautions, says Morten Patrzalek, who is the priest in Betania Church Center.
